Author: JURIST – Paper Chase

[JURIST] The Obama administration continued to criticize the Supreme Court Monday for its recent decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which eased restrictions on political campaign spending by corporations and labor unions. In an appeal for political campaign spending legislative reform, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform Norm Eisen said “the President was right to criticize the Supreme Court’s recent decision,” citing to reports of foreign corporations preparing to lobby against proposed legislation that would make political campaign spending more difficult for foreign-owned companies. The proposal that Obama called for in his State of the Union Address last week would set low limits on dollar contributions to federal candidates, enhance disclosure rules that apply to lobbyists and earmark requests, and close the loopholes opened by Citizens United pertaining to corporate political campaign spending.
In its ruling last month, the court cited First Amendment concerns in overturning Section 203 of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), which prohibited corporations and unions from using their general treasury funds to make independent expenditures for speech defined as an “electioneering communication” or for speech expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate. The court, in a 5-4 decision, said that, “he Government may regulate corporate political speech through disclaimer and disclosure requirements, but it may not suppress that speech altogether.” The White House immediately responded by pledging to work with Congress “to develop a forceful response.”

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating whether Blackwater, now known as Xe, bribed Iraqi officials to allow them to continue operating in the country following shooting deaths in 2007, the New York Times reported Monday. The fraud division of the DOJ reportedly began an inquiry into the alleged $1 million bribery in late 2009. Bribery of foreign officials is a violation of 15 USC &sect 78dd-1, a provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Blackwater will likely claim that the $1 million was restitution to the families of the individuals killed in 2007, which would exempt the company from violation of federal law. A conviction under the FCPA may include both criminal and civil penalties.
In December, a federal judge dismissed charges against the five Blackwater employees believed to be responsible for the 2007 shooting deaths, prompting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to announce that Iraq will file lawsuits against Blackwater in both US and Iraqi courts. US Vice-President Joe Biden has said that the DOJ will appeal the dismissal. Blackwater ceased operations in Baghdad in May 2009 when its security contracts for the protection of US diplomats expired.

[JURIST] Police in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on Monday arrested former Bosnian Army commander Zulfikar Alispago for war crimes allegedly committed during the Bosnian civil war. Alispago, the former commander of a special unit known as “Zulfikar,” is under investigation by the BiH war crimes prosecutor and is suspected of leading a 1993 attack on the village of Trusina, in which 19 civilians and three soldiers of the Croatian Defense Council were killed. According to the BiH prosecutor’s office, Alispago was apprehended after an order was issued by the prosecutor for the department of war crimes:
The BiH Prosecutor’s Office has collected sufficient evidence to support the claim that the suspect is responsible for the crimes committed and arrested him. The suspect shall be handed over to the Assigned Prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor’s Office within the legal deadline, and the Prosecutor will question him and later decide whether to file a motion to order custody.Alispago is suspected of having committed war crimes against civilians and prisoners of war under Articles 173 and 175 of the BiH Criminal Code.Last year, BiH police arrested five other members of Alispago’s unit who allegedly participated in the attack on Trusina. Last month, the BiH war crimes court indicted three former Bosnian Serb policemen on charges of genocide for their alleged roles in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian civil war. Also last month, BiH police arrested two former Bosnian Serb detention camp guards who were allegedly responsible for the death of around 50 civilians and Bosnian soldiers during the Bosnian civil war. The BiH war crimes court was set up in the 2005 to relieve the caseload of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and is authorized to try lower-level war crime suspects.

[JURIST] Top Iranian judge Sadeq Larijani said Monday that any further executions of anti-government protesters will be based on the law rather than on political pressure. Refusing to heed calls for more executions to stop opposition demonstrations, Larijani emphasized that all penalties will observe Iranian law, which is rooted in Islamic Sharia law. The comments come just days after two protesters were executed by hanging and nine others sentenced to death on charges of mohareb, or being enemies of God. Larijani, who was appointed head of the Supreme Judiciary by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei previously declared the 2009 post-election protests illegal, stating that they were based on unrealistic claims of election fraud.
In January, Iran’s Prosecutor-General Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei called for sedition trials against leaders of protests following last June’s contested presidential election. The Iranian government has faced significant international scrutiny for its handling of the post-election protests and treatment of thousands arrested as a result. Last month, Amnesty International labeled human rights violations committed by the Iranian government following the election among the worst of the past 20 years. In September, human rights groups called for the UN General Assembly to appoint a special envoy to investigate allegations of rights violations. Alleged human rights abuses of detainees include sexual assault, beatings, and forced confessions.

[JURIST] Two high-ranking Israeli military officers have been disciplined for firing shells into a populated area of the Gaza strip during last year’s Operation Cast Lead, it was revealed Monday. The information was contained in a 46-page report presented to the UN on Friday describing Israel’s role in the January 2009 Gaza conflict. According to the report, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired several artillery shells near populated areas in the Tel el-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City, destroying a UN compound and a Palestinian hospital. The UN maintains that the compound was hit with white phosphorus shells, while the report concludes that the “use of this weapon in the operation was consistent with Israel’s obligations under international law.” The two officers involved have since been disciplined for “exceeding their authority in a manner that jeopardized the lives of others,” but the Military Advocate General will not pursue a criminal investigation, and the officers will keep their rank and pay.
In November, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution giving Israel and Palestine three months to conduct independent investigations into possible war crimes committed during the Gaza conflict. Earlier this week, Hamas reported to the UN that its independent investigation had absolved Palestinian forces of any wrongdoing. The UN General Assembly has expressed support for the Goldstone Report, the result of a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) fact-finding mission, which accused both IDF and Hamas fighters of war crimes during the conflict. In October, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the formation of a task force to respond to the Goldstone Report. The formation of the task force came just two weeks after the UNHRC passed a resolution officially endorsing the report’s findings.

[JURIST] Haitian authorities confirmed Sunday that 10 US citizens have been arrested after attempting to bus 33 children across the border into the neighboring Dominican Republic. Haitian Social Affairs Minister Yves Christallin said that a total of 12 people were arrested Friday, including the 10 Americans and two Haitians. The Idaho-based Baptist group New Life Children’s Refuge planned to take 100 Haitian orphans across the border to an orphanage in the resort town of Cabarete as part of the “Haitian Orphan Rescue Mission.” Christallin, however, characterized the actions as abduction, and police chief Mario Andresol said that the Americans were awaiting a hearing before a judge in Port-au-Prince Monday on charges of violating Haiti’s immigration laws. The group claims to have obtained the children from the care of Jean Sanbil of the Sharing Jesus Ministries. Haitian authorities have imposed new requirements for adoptions since the earthquake, amid growing fears of child trafficking. The government now requires Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive to personally authorize the departure of any child.
Last week, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that strengthening human rights is an integral part of the rebuilding process in Haiti. In her remarks, Pillay mentioned the role that the inhumane living conditions may have had in the high casualty numbers resulting from the January 12 earthquake, placing blame on the regime of Francois Duvalier for those conditions. Last month, US President Barack Obama signed a bill that will allow US citizens to claim donations to Haitian relief efforts as a deduction on their 2009 tax returns. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced that Haitian nationals present in the US before the earthquake will be given temporary protected status and will not be deported for the next 18 months, but Haitian refugees who arrive in the US illegally will be sent back to their home country. The US has also granted humanitarian parole to Haitian orphans to allow them to enter the US for medical treatment. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused massive damage to property and infrastructure in Haiti, and the death toll has been estimated at 150,000.

[JURIST] Ambassadors from eight countries met with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Saturday to urge Japan to sign an international treaty that will help prevent parental child abductions across borders. Representatives from the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, France, New Zealand, Italy, and Spain encouraged Japan to join the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which requires a country to return a child who has been “wrongfully removed” from his or her country of habitual residence. Japan is the only G-7 country that has not signed the treaty. The ambassadors released a joint statement after the meeting, stating:
We signalled our encouragement at recent positive initiatives by the Government of Japan, such as the establishment of the Division for Issues Related to Child Custody within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the same time repeating calls for Japan to accede to the Convention, which would also benefit left-behind parents of Japanese origin. We also urged Japan to identify and implement interim measures to enable parents who are separated from their children to maintain contact with them and ensure visitation rights, and to establish a framework for resolution of current child abduction cases.The ambassadors also expressed concern that their nationals’ parental rights were being overlooked by Japanese courts. Under Japanese family law, only one parent is granted custody, and foreign parents are usually excluded from custody privileges. According to human rights groups, nearly 160,000 divorced or separated foreign and Japanese parents in Japan are not allowed to see their children under the current child custody laws. The Hague Convention, which currently has 81 signatories, seeks to eliminate difficulties that arise when a court in one country does not recognize custody decisions of a foreign court. Last month, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Abbott v. Abbott and is now considering whether a ne exeat clause prohibiting one parent from removing a child from the country without the other parent’s consent confers a “right of custody” within the meaning of the Hague Convention. The lower court held that ne exeat rights do not constitute “rights of custody” under the treaty. The Supreme Court’s decision could set new precedent in the country’s treatment of international child abduction cases.

[JURIST] More than 50 countries, including the US, China, and EU member states, submitted plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC) prior to a Sunday deadline set by the non-binding Copenhagen Accord. Relative to 2005 levels, the US has pledged to reduce emissions to 17 percent, while China has targeted a 40 to 45 percent reduction per GDP unit. EU members pledged a 20 percent reduction below 1990 levels. The countries submitting plans to the UNFCC represent two-thirds of worldwide emissions. Critics of the Copenhagen Accord say it lacks the enforcement mechanisms needed to ensure compliance, and is unlikely to limit global temperature rise to the indicated levels. Another round of climate change talks are scheduled for December, with the hope being that a binding resolution can be developed from the pledges made under the current accord.
The US has already taken several steps to reduce carbon emissions. President Obama issued an executive order last week requiring the federal government to reduce its emissions by 28 percent by 2020. Executive Order 13514 requires federal agencies to increase their energy efficiency and measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions. The order comes a month after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a finding that greenhouse gases threaten public health and the environment. The findings will enable the EPA to act without Congressional action on emissions.

[JURIST] As many as 100 anti-Kremlin demonstrators were arrested by Moscow authorities Sunday as they protested against the perceived government curtailing of the right to peaceful assembly. The 300-strong group chanted slogans calling for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to step aside. Among those detained were Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and the leader of the opposition group Solidarity, and Oleg Orlov, the head of rights group Memorial. Protests have been held on the thirty-first of every month by rights activists defending the Article 31 of the Russian Constitution, which outlines the right to peaceably protest. Applications to hold the rallies have often been rejected. The day before, a state-sanctioned demonstration in Kaliningrad protesting the rise in the cost of living grew into a 10,000-strong opposition protest, chanting anti-Putin slogans and demonstrating against the economic conditions of the Baltic enclave.
The actions of the Russian government in breaking up similar protests in December earned criticism from US President Barack Obama after the founder of Russia’s oldest rights group, the Moscow Helsinki Group, 82-year-old Lyudmila Alexeyeva was arrested. In December, human rights activist Sergei Kovalev called on the European Union to hold Russia accountable for human rights violations in a speech after receiving the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. Kovalev, joined by Orlov and Alexeyeva, accepted the award on behalf of Memorial. In October, a report by the UN Human Rights Committee found that Russia is failing to protect important human rights in a number of areas, including freedom of expression.

[JURIST] Spanish National Court judge Baltasar Garzon will begin an inquiry into the suspected torture and ill-treatment of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Spanish media reported Saturday. The inquiry follows claims made by several Spanish groups – including the Association for the Dignity of Prisoners of Spain, the Free Association of Lawyers, the United Left and the Human Rights Association of Spain – about alleged torture, abuse, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees at the facility. The Obama administration has not responded to Garzon’s questions regarding the open investigation of detainee abuses at the facility. Garzon’s inquiry has focused on Spanish citizen and ex-Guantanamo detainee Ahmed Abderraman Hamed, and three others who Garzon has stated have significant connections with Spain. The domestic focus is due to new Spanish laws on the exercise of universal jurisdiction passed by Spain’s parliament in November. The new law limits the use of universal jurisdiction to offenses committed by or against Spaniards, or where the perpetrators are in Spain.
Garzon has been known for using universal jurisdiction extensively in the past to bring several high-profile cases, including those against Osama bin Laden and former Latin American dictator Augusto Pinochet. In March, he asked prosecutors to examine the US lawyers reportedly behind the establishment of the Guantanamo Bay detention center, including David Addington, John Yoo, and former attorney general Alberto Gonzales. The case was reassigned to another judge the following month. The continued inquiry comes as US President Barack Obama prepares to close the detention facility. It was reported earlier this month that 35 Guantanamo detainees now face trial or military commissions, adding to the five detainees that are already scheduled to be tried in New York for the 9/11 attacks and six detainees who have been chosen to face military tribunals.

[JURIST] Former US Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee have been cleared of allegations of wrongdoing in relation to their controversial memos asserting the legality of enhanced interrogation techniques, it was reported Friday. The results of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) investigation of the two former OLC lawyers have yet to be officially released, but the probe is reported to have concluded that the lawyers exercised poor judgment in crafting the 2002 memos, a finding that does not qualify as professional misconduct. Originally, the OPR investigation had concluded that Yoo and Bybee had violated their professional obligations in crafting the memos, but this finding was softened by the reviewer. The implications of the original findings would have been far reaching, and could have led to significant sanctions against the former officials. Yoo, now a professor at the University of California Berkeley School of Law, could have faced disbarment. Bybee, now a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, could have faced impeachment proceedings.
A report prepared in the final months of the Bush administration came to similar conclusions, but was returned to the OPR for further investigation by then Attorney General Michael Mukasey. The five-year statute of limitations on Yoo’s alleged misconduct lapsed shortly after. In June, a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that a private lawsuit against Yoo could proceed. Judge Jeffrey White refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by convicted terrorist Jose Padilla that claims Yoo’s legal opinions endorsing enhanced interrogation techniques led to Padilla’s torture. Yoo has appealed the decision. The ruling was the first time a judge has allowed a lawsuit to proceed against a government lawyer for his opinion in the interrogation memos. The Department of Justice in April released four of the memos from the OLC outlining controversial CIA interrogation techniques and their legal rationale in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union during the Bush administration.

[JURIST] Hundreds of judges in Italy walked out of their courtrooms Saturday, in protest over judicial reform legislation proposed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The legislation, which has been approved by the Italian Senate, aims to shorten the trial and appeals process by putting strict time limits on its duration. The protests were organized by the National Magistrates Association (ANM) on Wednesday and took place at ceremonies marking the beginning of the judicial year. Judges all across Italy, including Milan, Naples, Palermo, and Rome, got up and walked out carrying a copy of the Italian Constitution as government officials began to speak. According to the ANM, judges are concerned that the reforms would act as a de facto amnesty for persons accused of crimes committed prior to May 2, 2006 and would endanger future trials.
The bill approved by the Senate would limit the three stages of a case – trial, initial appeal, and final appeal – to between 6.5 and 10 years depending on the crime, and cases that exceed the time limit would end in an automatic acquittal of the defendant. Because of the bill’s retroactive effect, two pending corruption cases against Berlusconi himself would be automatically dismissed. Members of Berlusconi’s center-right coalition have defended the bill as a way to speed up the slow Italian justice system while his critics have called it an ad personam bill, passed by his allies to help Berlusconi with his legal troubles. The bill would become law if it is approved by the lower house Chamber of Deputies and signed by President Giorgio Napolitano.

[JURIST] White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said during an interview Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union that upon being tried and convicted, alleged 9/11 conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would likely be executed. Gibbs stressed that the heinous nature of the crime he is accused of merits such severe punishment. When asked about the increasingly-unclear location of the trial Gibbs said the focus was still to have the trial in New York:We are talking with the authorities in New York. We understand their logistical concerns and their security concerns that are involved. We have been discussing that with them.
As you know, they were originally supportive of this. We want to see this man tried and brought to justice in the place in which the crime was committed. We will work with them and come to a solution that we think we bring about justice for those that lost loved ones on such a horrific day on 9/11. Earlier this week, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg cited costs and potential disruptions to the lives of New Yorkers in urging the federal government to move the trials. Bloomberg said a military base may be a more appropriate venue for the trial since they are generally in secluded areas, though he said his request was not based on security concerns. Bloomberg originally backed the idea of trying some of the terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay in Manhattan due to its proximity to ground zero and the symbolic significance of convicting the suspects there. In light of criticism, the Obama administration has reportedly been considering other locations but has not yet decided on a specific alternative venue.

[JURIST] The Hawaii House of Representatives on Friday postponed indefinitely a vote on legislation that would have allowed persons in same-sex civil unions the same rights as married heterosexual couples. The postponement was decided by voice vote; only a two-thirds majority in the Hawaii House would allow further action on the bill. In the weeks leading to the vote, the Hawaii Family Forum and the Hawaii Catholic Conference had rallied in a campaign against the civil union bill. Gay rights organization Equality Hawai’i characterized the voice vote result as a “cowardly move” motivated by “election considerations,” and decried the use of the procedure, which avoids having to record the specific vote of each legislator.
The Hawaii Senate had voted 18-7 only last week in favor of legislation allowing same-sex civil unions. The state of Hawaii has been at the forefront of the gay rights movement since the 1990s. In 1993, a Hawaii Supreme Court decision ruled that the state must show compelling reason to deny same-sex marriage. In 1998, Hawaiian voters approved an amendment to the state constitution to reserve for the State Legislature the authority to define marriage. Same-sex marriage is currently legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, and New Hampshire, and is set to become legal in Washington DC, pending Congressional inaction. New Jersey has recognized same-sex civil unions since 2006.

[JURIST] US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Friday dismissed two Russian proposals for new European security treaties and reaffirmed US commitment to “unified” European security. In prepared remarks delivered at the L’Ecole Militaire in Paris, Clinton said:the Russian Government under President Medvedev has put forth proposals for new security treaties in Europe. Indivisibility of security is a key feature of those proposals… However, we believe that these common goals are best pursued in the context of existing institutions, such as the OSCE and the NATO-Russia Council, rather than by negotiating new treaties, as Russia has suggested… Clinton also affirmed that American troops will continue to be stationed in Europe as part of American commitment to European security, while casting the occasion as an “extraordinary opportunity to work together” with Russia on security.
In recent months, Russia has campaigned to gain a greater say in security issues with both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States. On Tuesday, the parties of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) agreed on the “NRC-MR Framework for NATO-Russia Military-to-Military Cooperation” that will set the agenda for working out details on military cooperation. Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that negotiations on nuclear arms reduction would likely resume in early February to draft a new treaty to succeed the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. In November, the Kremlin proposed a treaty with NATO that would require consultation between all members on European security issues, and that analysts decried as a proposal to give Russia veto power over NATO affairs.

[JURIST] French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has asked the country’s highest court, the State Council, for input on implementing a proposed law that would ban public wearing of the burqa, the full Islamic veil. In a letter to Jean-Marc Sauve, the Vice-Chairman of the State Council, Fillon ordered the Council to “study legal solutions to achieve a ban, that is as wide as possible, on wearing the full veil” while addressing legal concerns that other members of the National Assembly had. Sauve’s report is expected back by the end of March.
In July 2009, a French commission began hearing testimony on the proposed ban. The commission released a report this past Tuesday calling for a partial ban that would apply in public facilities, including hospitals, schools, and public transportation, and to any individual attempting to receive public services. The panel also recommended that permanent residency and citizenship be denied to anyone displaying their adherence to “radical religious practices.” The commission was established after French President Nicolas Sarkozy strongly criticized the practice of wearing veils, saying that “the burqa is not welcome in France.”

[JURIST] A jury in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York Friday found giant French entertainment corporation Vivendi SA liable on 57 counts of violating US federal securities laws. The jury found that Vivendi SA had made material misstatements regarding its financial health in 2001-2002 before a three-way merger with Seagram Co. and Canal Plus, and that investors who brought stock relying on those misstatements later lost money after its stock price fell. Jean-Marie Messier, Vivendi SA’s former CEO, and Guillaume Hannezo, the former finance director, were found not liable by the same jury. Vivendi SA has said that it will appeal the verdict. The company said:Vivendi believes that there are many grounds for appeal, including, but not limited to the Court’s decision to include French shareholders in the class, its rulings on jurisdiction and the plaintiffs’ erroneous method of proving and calculating damages, as well as the numerous incorrect rulings made during the course of the trial. Furthermore, Vivendi believed, and continues to believe strongly, that it did nothing wrong and that this case raises significant legal issues for foreign corporations doing business in the United States that need to be definitively resolved.Arthur Abbey, a plaintiff’s attorney with Abbey, Spanier, Rodd and Abrams who litigated the case, said that Vivendi might ultimately have to pay out between four and nine billion dollars in damages.
Messier, the former CEO, had earlier testified that the fall in stock price was not due to securities fraud but because of the then economic climate. In 2003, Vivendi paid a 50 million dollar fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle the complaint. Messier paid a one million dollar fine and agreed to give up his claim to a 26 million dollar severance payment. Vivendi had previously sued Messier to recover the severance payment, claiming that board members had been coerced by Messier into signing off on the payment, but later withdrew its lawsuit as part of the settlement with the SEC

[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday called the closed door trial of Cambodia’s opposition leader Sam Rainsy and two others a “farce,” saying the ruling demonstrates the government’s control over the country’s judiciary. Rainsy was convicted Wednesday, in absentia, of inciting racial discrimination and intentionally destroying posts demarcating the border between Cambodia and Vietnam. Two villagers were convicted of the same crimes. HRW Asia Director Brad Adams said the decision was the result of political motivations by Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen:
The Cambodian government’s relentless crackdown on critics continues apace in 2010. Hun Sen seems intent on reversing the political pluralism that has been created over the past two decades. Any hopes of slowing Hun Sen’s assault on the political opposition now depends on the donor community, which props up the government financially. This political trial should make donors recognize the gravity of the situation.Rainsy was sentenced to two years in prison and fined 8 million riels (approximately USD $2,000), and the two villagers were each sentenced to one year in prison. All three were required to pay 55 million riels (approximately USD $13,000) for destroying the border markings.The charges stem from an incident in October where Rainsy joined Cambodian villagers in removing six temporary border markers, which the villagers said were placed on their lands by Vietnamese authorities. Rainsy called the planting of the border markers a border incursion and said his conviction was requested by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Rainsy was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in November, and an arrest warrant was issued for him in December after he failed to appear for questioning about the incident. He has said he would return to the country and allow himself to be taken into custody if the two villagers are released from prison.

[JURIST] US President Barack Obama on Friday ordered the federal government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 28 percent by 2020. The reduction is pursuant to Executive Order 13514, signed by Obama in October. The order provides, in part:
It is therefore the policy of the United States that Federal agencies shall increase energy efficiency; measure, report, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions from direct and indirect activities; conserve and protect water resources through efficiency, reuse, and stormwater management; eliminate waste, recycle, and prevent pollution; leverage agency acquisitions to foster markets for sustainable technologies and environmentally preferable materials, products, and services; design, construct, maintain, and operate high performance sustainable buildings in sustainable locations; strengthen the vitality and livability of the communities in which Federal facilities are located; and inform Federal employees about and involve them in the achievement of these goals.The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) will be responsible for implementing the initiatives outlined in the order at the agency and departmental levels.Obama’s announcement comes a month after the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Although the conference failed to produce any legally binding resolution, 192 countries, including the US, agreed to “take note” of the non-binding Cophenhagen Accord. Climate change has been a central policy concern of the Obama administration since taking office. Last month, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a finding that greenhouse gases threaten public health and the environment.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday that while the treatment of Canadian Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr violated his rights, the government does not have to press for his return to Canada. In a unanimous decision, the court ruled that the interrogation of Khadr by Canadian officials while in detention violated section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. According to the ruling, Canadian officials questioned Khadr, who was captured at age 15, even though they knew he was being indefinitely detained, and, in March 2004, he was questioned with knowledge that he was subjected to three weeks sleep deprivation by US authorities. Still, the court said that forcing the government to press for his return was not an appropriate remedy. The court reasoned that ordering such a remedy would overreach its authority by not respecting the power of the executive to act on issues of foreign affairs. The Canadian chapter of Amnesty International urged the government to exercise its authority to remedy the violations of Khadr’s constitutional rights:
Amnesty International is calling on the Canadian government to respond immediately to today’s unanimous Supreme Court of Canada declaration that Omar Khadr’s rights have been violated. As a remedy to those violations, Amnesty International continues to call on the Canadian government immediately to seek Omar Khadr’s repatriation from Guantanamo Bay back to Canada.It is unclear how the government will respond to Friday’s ruling.Friday’s ruling overturned a Federal Court of Appeal decision, which upheld a lower court order requiring the federal government to seek Khadr’s repatriation. The federal government immediately appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court. US Attorney General Eric Holder said in November that Khadr will likely be tried by a US military commission. In October, Khadr’s military lawyer was dismissed and replaced with civilian lawyers by a US military judge on Khadr’s request after court affidavits showed the lawyer’s performance had become detrimental to his defense. Khadr has allegedly admitted to throwing a hand grenade that killed a US soldier in Afghanistan, and was charged in April 2007 with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, providing material support for terrorism, and spying.